


Nighthawks

by BadLuckBlueEyes



Category: X-Men: First Class (2011) - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Canon Disabled Character, Charles Is a Big Dorkface, Charles Xavier has a Ph.D in Adorable, Erik is a Big Dorkface, Gen, Meet-Cute, erik is awkward
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-30
Updated: 2015-11-30
Packaged: 2018-05-04 05:45:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5322734
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BadLuckBlueEyes/pseuds/BadLuckBlueEyes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erik is working alone in a coffee shop on Christmas Eve and this one customer has been there for hours...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nighthawks

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mssdare](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mssdare/gifts).



> Happy Secret Mutant! This prompt was cute so I wanted to write it.
> 
> The title is from this artwork, which I was thinking about while writing this. http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/citi/images/standard/WebLarge/WebImg_000254/187455_3026962.jpg

Erik wiped down the counter even though he really didn’t need to. The nearly empty coffee shop was spotless, a product of Erik’s boredom and the lack of customers coming in. He couldn’t blame them really, it was Christmas Eve. Nobody wanted to go get coffee. 

His boss probably had that in mind when he had asked if anyone could work on Christmas Eve. Erik had agreed immediately, he had nothing special to do. Hanukkah was over and he had been just as alone then as he was now. 

When he ran out of things to do, Erik pulled out his phone and started messing around on the internet. Any other day he would have been yelled at, but there was nobody else to yell at him. 

The only customer in the shop was ignoring Erik completely. He had been there since the start of Erik’s shift, nursing some kind of drink and typing away at a computer. He was hidden under an oversized parka and winter hat, and Erik wasn’t actually sure what he looked like. He also hadn’t moved in hours. Erik was almost impressed by his dedication to whatever he was doing. 

He kept trying to distract himself, scrolling through twitter and stalking his favorite mutant band to try and find out when their next album came out, but the metal in the lonely customer’s wheelchair kept distracting him. 

The customer stretched suddenly, knocking over his mug. 

“Oh, shit,” he scrambled to straighten it, and the parka draped over his shoulders fell to the ground. 

Erik jumped in surprise, hopping over the counter and thrusting his arm behind him. A metal napkin holder flew into his hand and he was across the coffee shop in three steps. He pulled several napkins free and pressed them into the puddle seeping onto the table, stemming it from hitting the laptop. 

Erik glanced up at the customer and froze when he saw the bluest eyes he’d ever seen in his life. The air flew out of his body as if he’d been punched. 

The owner of the blue eyes smiled and laughed, breaking their eye contact to gently pry the wet napkins from Erik’s hands and take over mopping up the liquid. Tea, Erik realized. 

Blue Eyes pulled more napkins from the dispenser and threw them onto the rapidly decreasing mess. He looked over his shoulder and realized his parka was on the floor. 

Erik leaned back, relaxing when he saw that the situation was back under control. Blue Eyes straightened, draping the parka back over his shoulders. 

“Thank you,” he smiled at Erik. Erik’s heart skipped a beat. 

“Uh yeah, no problem,” Erik replied, blinking rapidly, immediately forgetting how the English language worked. “Didn’t want my boss coming in and yelling at me for leaving any messes.” 

Wow, he was lame. His boss wasn’t going to notice a thing. 

As if picking up on that, Blue Eyes laughed. 

“Well, I appreciate your help,” he said, genuine and utterly charming. Erik nodded. 

“Of course,” he replied. He figured he should probably go back to the counter, but it wasn’t like anybody was coming in… 

“Would you like to sit for a few minutes? Standing behind the counter and not doing anything must hurt your feet,” Blue Eyes asked, solving Erik’s moral dilemma. He nodded, his gaze dropping to the wet napkins. 

“Let me just get rid of these,” Erik grabbed the sopping pile of napkins and disposed of them quickly, returning to his seat as fast as humanly possible. 

Blue Eyes was watching Erik as he slid into his seat, biting his lip to hide a smile. 

“How come you’re here on Christmas eve and not out celebrating?” he asked. 

“I’m Jewish,” Erik replied, “And I needed the money. What brings you here?” 

“My sister’s celebrating the holiday out of state and I needed to get out of the house,” Blue Eyes shrugged. “My name is Charles, by the way. Though Blue Eyes is a lovely moniker, it’s not quite accurate.” 

Erik was confused, but refused to let it show on his face. He raised an eyebrow instead. 

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Charles smiled smiled a little. “You think very loudly, I couldn’t help overhearing.” 

Erik frowned. 

“You were in my mind?” He asked hesitantly. He’d crossed paths with telepaths before, but Emma always felt the need to make her presence known. He’d had no idea Charles overheard anything. 

“No, I wasn’t in your mind on purpose, you were projecting and I overheard. I don’t go into people’s minds without permission,” Charles rushed to reassure. 

“Alright,” Erik relaxed, crossing his arms loosely. 

For an awkward moment, they didn’t say anything. 

“Was that telekinesis?” Charles finally asked, “When you were coming over here to help, you made the napkins fly.” Erik smiled, lifting Charles’ phone from the table, letting it float gently. 

“Just metal,” he clarified, depositing the phone gently. Charles looked delighted. 

“That’s wonderful,” he picked his phone up from the table, looking it over. “Very groovy.” 

“Groovy?” Erik asked, amused. 

“It’s coming back,” Charles mumbled. 

“Good luck with that,” Erik chuckled. He glanced away, not sure what to say next. Now that he knew what Charles looked like under the parka, he didn’t want to look away. But if he kept looking, he’d seem creepy. So he looked toward the counter, pretending he had something work related to do. 

“I’ve been trying to figure out a way to talk to you all night. I mean,” Charles started, but trailed off, clearly having no idea what to say. “I mean, I promise I didn’t read your mind, but it lit up the entire place and it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever encountered, and all night the only thing I wanted to do was talk to you but I had no idea how to do that without feeling like an utter arse.” 

“Really?” Erik asked, taken aback, but also flattered. Charles nodded, glancing at the tea he’d knocked over. He took a sip of whatever dredges were left in the cup and cleared his throat. 

“Really,” Charles confirmed. “I did intend on stopping in and then driving around to kill time, but I stayed. So far, I’m not regretting it.” 

“I’m glad I’m living up to your expectations,” Erik said wryly. “What happens in fifteen minutes when we close?” 

“That’s entirely up to you, my friend. Where do you want it to go?” Charles asked, raising one eyebrow. 

“I’d love to get coffee sometime, preferably someplace I don’t work at,” Erik straightened in his seat. “But I could be talked into dinner first.” 

A large grin broke out across Charles’ face. Erik couldn’t help but smile softly in return. 

“So it’s a date?” Charles looked so hopeful. Erik chuckled softly and stared into his beautiful blue eyes. 

“It is most definitely a date.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks to the awesome person who beta read this for me! I hope you all enjoyed it.


End file.
